New Encounters
by OrangeCocoPuffs
Summary: When Mello and Matt are in danger, two mysterious girls save them. What happens when these girls soon become apart of their lives? OC and slight OOC
1. The Beginning

Mello had always done things on his own without the aid of anyone for whatever reason throughout his young life thus far. Except at the present moment when he needed Matt to be the diversion in order for Mello to kidnap a certain news anchor; Kiomi Takada.

"You ready Matt?" the blond asked his friend.

"Yeah." Matt responded whilst lighting up the blunt of the cigarette he had placed in his mouth. With that, the two men walked out of the hideout that they've been staying in for the past week and mentally prepared themselves for going against Kira's wrath. The whole Kira concept seemed idiotic to the both of them considering how this _new god _actually thought they _were _the real thing. Whoever this person was, they were certainly a lunatic who should be locked up in a mental asylum for their sake and everyone else's.

Matt got into a red car parked in the front yard and turned the keys into the ignition until the engine revved to life. He and Mello exchanged silent goodbyes by nodding their head towards the other and left to do their part in the plan.

* * *

When Takada was kidnapped by Mello, she was then brought into a truck in a location unfamiliar to her and asked to remove her clothes and put them into a box, wearing nothing but a blanket. Shortly after, he began to drive and unbeknownst to him, Takada was writing his name into a page from the Death Note. She only had three letters left until a girl appeared in front of her which startled Takada causing her to drop the pen and paper in her hand. The girl had chocolaty brown skin, black braids that stretched to her shoulders, dark brown eyes, and wore a black and white MCR shirt draped with a denim jacket with the sleeves cut off and black skinny jeans with combat boots. She held a look of malice in her eyes.

"Wh-Who are you?!" Takada screamed, backing away from her.

"I'm here to save that guy you were going to kill. He shouldn't die; you should." She responded glaring daggers at Kiomi.

"And why should I?" Slightly fearful but suppressing it and maintaining an impassive face.

"Anyone who hurts good people deserves to die." The girl walked a step towards Takada with each word until she towered over her with Takada slumped on the ground clutching her knees with the blanket.

"You won't hurt me." Takada clutched her knees even tighter but looked into the girl's eyes defiantly.

"Oh, aren't I? Don't worry, it won't hurt all that much." The girl outstretched her arms towards Takada's neck but stopped when she saw Takada burn some items around her with a lighter. _Where'd she get that?!_ The girl thought.

"Hey… how about you drop the lighter and just chill out." The girl spoke tentatively, gesturing her hands trying to calm Takada down. However, her pleads fell upon deaf ears as she continued to burn everything in sight. _I have to get out here!_

She started yelling for the driver to stop but struggled as the smoke was infiltrating her lungs. The girl spluttered and coughed violently clutching the walls for support and trying to extinguish the flames with whatever she could find. _If I don't do anything, we'll all die. _She then walked towards Takada mustering up what strength she had left, and snapped her neck. Her lifeless body began to become ensnarled in the flames and burn; flesh changing from a pale, milky skin tone, to a charred, black one. On the verge of passing out, the girl let out one last ear piercing scream before she fainted.

"_HELP!_"

* * *

Matt drove making several sharp turns in order to lose the guards tailing him but to no avail. _Damn they're persistent. _He eventually was forced into a street which had several police and guards waiting for his arrival with guns targeting him, their fingers itching on the trigger. The two cars that were still tailing him parked and cut off the only exit back; Matt sunk into his seat more and contemplated the situation. _So those cars got ahead of me, huh?_ _How many damn body guards does one woman need anyway? _

He got out of the car and held his arms up as a means to say, 'I come in peace.' A girl, who was sitting in the back of the car, unbeknownst to Matt, suddenly came out of the car too with her hands up. _What the hell?! Was she in there the whole time? _She had brown skin, black curly hair with some golden highlights worn a half bun that fell to her mid-back, dark brown eyes, and wore a red tank top with a leather jacket over it, black skinny jeans and converse.

She edged closer to Matt and whispered, "Hey mister, be careful." If he wasn't in this predicament, he would face palm himself. _Oh nooooo, I TOTALLY didn't know that._

"I am, don't worry about me. Get yourself out." He replied in the same tone.

"I can't, I have to make sure you're safe." Matt glanced at her from this comment. _What is wrong with her? Why does she care about me this much? She just met me like two minutes ago!_

"And why is that?" He asked.

"Because you're a good person and should live." She stated bluntly.

"I'm a pretty bad guy so you don't know what you're talking about."

"No you're not. It's written on your face; I-am-a-good-guy. Hey, I think you should say something to _them_. " She said rolling her eyes in the direction of the police and guards. Matt gave a small nod and projected his voice.

"Hey, c'mon, give me a break. Since when were the Japanese allowed to carry such big guns," the girl felt a heavy sinking feeling of impending doom and widened her eyes as Matt spoke. She saw the police and guards inch their fingers on the trigger and slowly press down with each second. "You won't shoot-"

A barrage of bullets hailed on the two and the girl pushed Matt out of the way with lightning speed so much so that he wasn't even scratched. She on the other hand, dealt with a few bullets in her left arm.

"Aggghhhh!" She yelled despite her effort to mute it. The girl then hurriedly grabbed Matt's arm and sprinted through the crowd of people observing the spectacle, turned into a dark alleyway, and entered an abandoned building set for demolition within a month.

There was still some furniture left and the girl sat on a large couch grabbing onto her injured arm. She then looked around the lobby for anything she could use to tie her wounds with and then spotted a forgotten hoodie left behind a plant. The girl then walked over to the clothing, ripped it to pieces, tied off her wounds, and walked back to the couch and proceeded to sit on it once more.

Matt sat down on a chair opposite the couch and stared at her left arm and the dark red stains it made on her tank top. His throat felt dry and his thoughts ran a million miles a minute; he felt that he had to say something, no, _must_ say something to this girl considering she just _saved _his life.

"Than-thank you," he finally said, his voice cracking. She looked up from her arm to him and gave off a weak smile.

"You're welcome. Hey, you aren't hurt are you?" She asked worrisomely. _Me? Injured? She's kidding right?_

"No, but you are though and I'm really sorry about it. It's my fault…" She examined his face and grinned widely. _What is she smiling about? This is serious!_

"See? You _are_ a good guy! I knew it!"

"I think right now isn't the time to be saying this," Her grin died into a thin line and her demeanor changed as well. Matt noticed this and stood up, walked towards her, and outstretched his right hand to help her up. "C'mon, let's go."

"Go where?" She asked after she took Matt's hand to help lift her up.

"To take you to a doctor." They both began to walk outside the building cautious for anyone who might've recognized them from their previous spectacle. The journey was silent and long until when the girl noticed that they had passed a hospital and spoke.

"So where exactly are we going because we just passed the hospital?" He looked at her and his next comment would shock her and cause her to blush.

"My house."

* * *

She woke up in a meadow seemly alone until she noticed that a certain blond man was sitting a few feet away watching her. It was night and the only form of light was from passing cars or light posts, and even with them it was still hard to see.

She smiled and said, "I'm glad you're okay, mister."

"I wouldn't be if it wasn't for you." She blushed at the compliment. _Wow. This guy is hot!_

"Oh, it was nothing. How'd you find me anyway? I was sure I'd die…" Mello turned his head and watched a few cars that passed by on the highway before he spoke.

"When I was driving, I heard someone yell for help and it sounded like it came extremely close to the truck. But since no one was on the road except for me, I stopped the truck and took a look in the back and that's when I saw the fire, Takada's dead body, and yours. I took your pulse to see if you were alive, and sure enough I felt one, although it was weak." He glanced at her and saw her face full of interest and smirked. "I saw a meadow nearby so I carried you there to get some fresh air since you inhaled all those fumes and to get away from the truck that could've exploded at any moment."

"Thank you." She replied whilst also watching the cars pass by.

* * *

"So what's your name?" Matt and Mello asked in unison to the girls in their respective situations after some silence had passed.

* * *

"Helena." Matt glanced from her to the stores around them, mouthing her name to himself.

"And yours?" She asked inquisitively.

"Matt."

* * *

"Wild." Mello looked at her briefly before looking back to the cars.

"What's yours?" Wild asked curiously.

"Mello."


	2. Understanding

An awkward silence enveloped the both of them and Wild felt the need to say something to the man beside her. She felt that the entire situation was ironic considering how she tried saving his life when in fact she was the one being saved. In other words, she had just found her knight in shining armor; well… leather in this case.

"Umm… Mello?" He turned his gaze on her.

"What?" Wild started to fidget her index fingers and looked down at the grass.

"Why'd you take that lady anyway?" His eyes widened for a split second but she still noticed the small movement. Mello turned his head once more watching the cars and remained silent for a few minutes until he spoke.

"She's part of a case and kidnapping her would cause Kira to take drastic measures thus causing him to make a mistake which would result in his capture." Wild took a few seconds to absorb the new found information but still couldn't seem to grasp it.

"Who was she?" Mello's eyebrows furrowed at the question. _She must REALLY not watch much TV._

"She's the news anchor for NHS and Kira's spokeswoman."

"Oh," she then glanced towards Mello and caught the distant look in his eyes. "Mello…?"

"What?"

"What are you going to do now?" He felt that he couldn't answer that question; he didn't know what he was going to do. Probably continue doing his own investigation within the case until Kira was apprehended.

"I don't know," He honestly admitted after he sighed. Mello looked at Wild and noticed that she was in good health and stood up; Wild mirrored his action and stood up too.

"Well, thanks kid. For everything." He said and walked in the direction that he parked his motorcycle. She ran after him yelling for him to wait and when she caught up, she stood in front of Mello causing him to stop. He growled and had an annoyed expression plastered on his face.

"What do you want?" His voice sounding irritated.

"I have nowhere to go." His eyes glared at her and she felt a pang of fear but managed to suppress it._ He's scary when he's mad._

"And what do you want me to do about it?" He sidestepped and continued to walk. Wild had to power-walk to keep up with his demanding pace.

"Can I go with you?"

"_No."_ He growled out.

"Please?" Wild begged.

"No. Leave me alone."

"But I can help! I swear!" He rolled his eyes at her persistence and annoying begs.

"Help with what? Can you catch a mass murderer? No? Then leave me alone." Wild stopped walking.

"Maybe I can…" She said quietly but was still heard. Mello stopped walking too and turned to look at her.

"And how would a kid like you do that?" Wild grew annoyed at the fact that he kept calling her _kid._ She wasn't a kid! She was considered a teenager at the very least!

"_For your information_, I'm not a kid; I'm fourteen, and I can sense when people are in danger – dying wise. I saved you didn't I?" She smiled at the way Mello's angered face softened into contemplating whether or not he should bring her with him as she spoke. _He's going to take me!_ His face was then marred with an angry expression once again and her smile died down. _Never mind…_

"No you didn't. It's the other way around _kid_." A smirk grazed Mello's lips from seeing Wild's irritated expression.

"I'M NOT A KID!" She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Mello thought the whole thing was quite amusing and chuckled a little.

"Why don't you go to your parents? I'm sure they'll help with at _least _something." Wild's expression saddened and Mello felt regretful that he even asked. _Why am I so stupid…?_

"They died." He had empathy for the girl; he himself had his parents taken away from him too. After pondering on whether he should bring Wild along or not, and weighing his options, Mello finally had his decision.

"Fine." Wild looked at his face with a confused look.

"Huh?"

"I said fine, you can come. But you better stick to your word and help me capture Kira because the second you don't, I'm dumping your ass on the streets."

Wild was ecstatic and ran to Mello, giving him the biggest bear hug she could. Mello of course didn't return the hug, or more like _couldn't,_ and tried to push her off of him; he didn't like people being that close. To his dismay, she was a vise and wouldn't let go of him; Mello inwardly sighed at the display of affection. _This is going to be a long day…_

* * *

Matt fished for a key in his left jean pocket, promptly opened the front door, and walked over to a lamp to shed some light using the moon's radiance as guidance to get there. The room was revealed to have an olive green chair in the center, next to that a small table with monitors set atop it and the lamp itself and a burgundy chair to the left of it. Tattered shades covered half the window next to the burgundy chair, white paint started to chip off the walls, and chocolate bar wrappers littered the floor.

Matt went into the kitchen, and started to dial a number using a telephone that was docked on the wall. As the phone rang, he looked at Helena and noticed the awkward appearance on her face; he smirked and called her name. She looked up and her awkward expression morphed into an expecting one.

"You could sit down you know." She then sat into the olive chair and clutched onto her left arm in an attempt to lessen the flow of blood. Helena waited patiently for Matt to end his call but the awkward feeling she had earlier wouldn't go away and so she fidgeted with the ends of the cloth tied on her wounds. _This place looks… roomy. _She saw the giant mass of wrappers on the floor and shook her head. _Matt should really eat better. First smoking, now unhealthy amounts of chocolate? _Matt's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Hello?"

"It's Matt."

"Do you think you could come here?"

"Yeah… you could say that."

"It's a long story. Could you get here fast? It's important."

"Okay. Thanks. " He hung up and walked over to sit in the burgundy seat. He looked at Helena's arm and felt regretful; she noticed and spoke up.

"Don't feel bad! You aren't dead and that's all that matters." Matt thought about what she said. _Why does she feel so obligated to protect me? I'm probably older than her so it should be the other way around! _ He felt that he needed an answer to why she wanted to protect him this much.

"Why do you want to protect me?" Helena's gaze shifted to the floor for she was unable to tell him the complete truth – not yet.

"I don't really know. I felt that you were in danger and you looked like a nice enough guy, so I just did what I did." Matt gaped at the statement._ Instinct? That's it? _

"But how'd you know that I'd be in danger?"

"It's like a sixth sense. I just feel it." This girl never ceased to make actual sense to him.

Silence then enveloped the both of them until Helena asked Matt a question that had her curious since she sat down.

"Hey, Matt?" He looked up at her while Helena stared at the wrappers by his feet.

"Yeah?"

"Are those yours…?" She pointed a finger at the wrappers and when he finally caught notice of what she was implying, he waved his hands in a defending manner.

"Oh no! No! Those are my roommates; I don't even like chocolate."

"He eats that much by _himself?!_" She asked astonished; her eyes wide. Matt smirked at her reaction and further elaborated.

"Yeah. He eats a new bar almost every half hour and all those wrappers are from yesterday." At this rate, if he kept talking, her eyes would pop out of her head. He started to chuckle from the face she made.

"I'm serious! Doesn't he have diabetes by now?!" His chuckles turning into laughs, he shook his head and if it were possible to be even more surprised than she already was, Helena's face definitely showed that now.

"What?!" Clutching his sides at this point, Matt waited until he regained control over his fit of laughter to answer.

"Instead of worrying about him, you should worry about yourself right now," his ember eyes shifted their gaze to her arm. "How are you keeping up?"

She looked at her arm as well and noticed that the cloth was completely dyed a crimson color. It didn't hurt as much as it did when she first got shot, but it still hurt somewhat.

"It hurts still but not as bad as it did before."

"What the hell's taking Kenji so long?" He mumbled to himself but Helena still heard due to their close proximity.

"Kenji?" Matt realized he must've spoken louder than he had anticipated and informed Helena of this so-called person.

"The doctor."

"Oh… are you guys close?"

"You could say that. He's an underground doctor that helped Mello and I when we got injured doing our own thing with the Mafia." Helena was lost in her own thoughts. _Mafia? These guys are so bad-ass!_

"Mello?"

"The roommate."

"Oh." Another silence invaded the situation and after a few minutes the doorbell rang; Matt stood up to go answer it but was not expecting the visitor.

* * *

"This is your motorcycle?!" Wild let go of Mello and ran up to it to feel the cool metal with an excited expression plastered on her face earning a smirk from the ex-Mafioso.

"Like what you see?" Wild looked up from the bike to his face.

"Heck yeah I do!" She replied in an energized tone. Mello walked to the motorcycle, put his helmet on and slipped into the seat; Wild observed in amazement.

"Well are you going to get on or not?"

"Really?!"

"Hurry up or I'll leave you." Wild put on the spare helmet Mello carried in case his flew off in any given moment, and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Ready?" Mello questioned revving up the engine.

"Ready." The bike began to move and within twenty minutes they had arrived at Mello's hideout.

Mello parked the motorcycle in the front yard then he and Wild took off their helmets and placed them on each handle. He walked up the steps and placed his finger on the doorbell about to push down until he noticed Wild didn't follow him and stood near his bike.

"Are you coming or what?"

"O-okay." She walked up the stairs and stood close to Mello slightly fearing the mean look of the house. But if someone as cool as Mello was here, she had nothing to fear since he would protect her! Right? He even had the scar to prove he's tough!

Mello rang the doorbell and in a matter of seconds an angry redhead opened the door.

"What the hell took-"Matt started. "Oh, it's you." He walked away from the door and sat back down in his seat.

Mello entered the abode with Wild following closely behind until she ran in front of him and yelled when she saw the girl in the chair with her arm bleeding profusely.

"HELENA!" When she heard her name being called, she looked up to see Wild whose clothes were charred and singed along with her hair and skin burnt in some places.

"WILD!"


	3. Reunion

Wild ran towards the injured girl and threw herself on top of her and gave her the biggest hug she could.

"What happened?! I missed you and I couldn't find you and I was so worried and I thought you were in trouble and when I couldn't find you I panicked and…" Wild begin to ramble and wouldn't stop shaking Helena in the process; the boys watched the spectacle with one thought going through their minds about the new girl they saw. _Who's SHE?_

"Ow-OW! Watch the arm!" Helena warned and Wild slowly released her death grip from the poor girl and apologized several times while looking at the wound.

"What happened? How'd you get hurt?" She asked with worry written on her face. Helena chuckled while rubbing her head sheepishly with her right arm.

"Well you see… it's kind of a long story…" Wild sensed she didn't want to explain but persisted.

"It's okay, I got time." With all eyes on her except Matt who rather looked out the window, Helena was forced to explain. _Guess now's the time to explain the whole thing. I can't lie to Wild._

"After you left to god knows where, I walked around looking for you and after about two hours walking, I got tired and hungry. I ended up in some weird neighborhood with abandoned houses and buildings – which was this one – and then I saw a chocolate bar in the back of a red car, so I tried to get in but the doors were obviously locked." Matt looked at Helena at this point because he honestly wanted to know she'd got in the car; he put high security locks on it and the fact that a measly teen could break through it upset and astounded him. Mello on the other hand, tried to suppress a growl. _I was saving that!_

"There were some tough locks on it but they were like a series of fun mini puzzles; like the ones we used to do!" Wild nodded in recognition and urged Helena to continue. "And once I broke through them, I tried to get the bar, but I heard a front door open and saw Matt and Mello were getting out, so I hid in the back so they wouldn't hurt me. The next thing I knew, a loud boom rang in my ears and police sirens blared everywhere." Matt and Mello glanced at each other. _The smoke bomb._

"Then Matt got out of the car and when I made sure he wasn't in the car, I lifted my head so I could see out the window and saw Matt lifting his hands up with a lot of police surrounding the car. They had guns targeted on him and I had a strong feeling that he wouldn't get out of that alive and if I could at least help in any way, I would; and plus I owe him for taking that chocolate bar. When he was telling him to calm down, they shot and I pushed him out of the way and thankfully he was fine. But I kind of wasn't… "

Mello glanced at Matt and smirked at how a kid saved him._ Guess Matt isn't as strong as I thought._

"Wow Helena. Didn't know you were _that _cool!" Wild exclaimed. Helena chuckled at the younger girl's comment.

"Oh, it was nothing. I mean Matt's the real cool one here! He got chased by the police! How cool is that!" Helena looked at Matt with a huge smile on her face, her eyes gleaming; he couldn't help but to laugh. After some tension was defused, Helena asked Wild what had happened to her as well. Mello looked at her curious as to how she had gotten into the truck.

"Well_, _you _see…_ I got hungry and saw this lady giving free samples for some new sushi she was promoting so of _course_ I'd go. But when I came back, I lost you and panicked and called out your name a bunch of times but you never showed up. Then I walked around and looked for you for some time until I saw this truck in the middle of nowhere that looked like the one we used to live in, remember?" Helena nodded. Matt and Mello felt a tinge of sadness since they both lived in a high class orphanage while these girls lived in a truck.

"So I thought that you'd be in there but no one was there and I was about to leave until I heard a guy and a girl's voice outside the truck. So I hid in a big box in the corner of the truck and pushed the smaller one in front of it so no one would suspect that I was hiding." _So THAT'S how she got in. _Mello thought.

"The door opened and I poked a hole in the box to peek through and saw Mello telling the lady to take her clothes off and put it in the smaller box and after she did-"

"Wow Mello, I know that you didn't get some for a while but to go _this_ far?" Matt interrupted which earned a glare from Wild.

"It wasn't like that, stupid. It was for precautions. She could've had the Death Note on her; get your mind out the gutter."

"_Anyways,_ I saw her mumbling something about killing Mello and she took out a paper and a pen and started writing." Wild continued and rage radiated off Mello causing him to ball his hands into a fist. _She had a page?! That sneaky bitch!_

"Before he left, I felt that Mello was a good guy even if he looked gruff and mean and I didn't want to see him die because if he did, the whole truck would flip and explode and kill everyone in it, so I got up and walked over to her. I was really angry at her for trying to kill him because it was obvious he wasn't going to kill her, so I _might've _been a little meaner than I should have to her; telling her to die and what not." Mello smirked again. _A little possessive aren't we?_

"And _out of nowhere_, she started burning things up with a lighter that came out of nowhere too. I did the logical thing to do at the time; snap her neck." An imaginary sweat dropped from Helena's forehead. _So violent…_

"I yelled for Mello to stop but apparently he didn't hear me until I screamed for help right before I passed out from the fumes. Later, I woke up in a meadow and Mello rescued me and eventually we got back here." She said while gesturing some elements of the aforementioned events.

"Well now that we've gotten stories out of the way, mind telling me who you are…?" Matt inquired looking at Wild.

"Oh! I'm Wild. You?" She walked towards him with an outstretched hand and Matt shook it.

"Matt." Wild then walked back to her original position and gestured Mello and Helena to each other.

"Mello, Helena. Helena, Mello."

"Nice to meet you." Helena said gazing at Mello.

"Hnn." He replied.

The four inhabitants of the hideout had their conversations interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. Mello walked over to the door and found it annoying how someone would be here at this time of night. It was nearly three a.m. for crying out loud. When he opened the door, a familiar tanned middle-aged man with a short, well-trimmed beard and tired eyes stood at the doorstep. He wore a black sweater, pants in the same color, a large white lab-coat, and carried a small duffle bag with him containing medical utensils.

"Hey, Mello. Can I come in?"

"Is that slow-ass Kenji?!" Matt yelled from the room loud enough so even Kenji heard. The latter sighed. _It's not like it's easy to just walk around wherever you want when you're underground… _

"Yeah." Mello answered and sidestepped to allow Kenji in before he closed the door behind him. The doctor walked in and set his duffle bag on the table in between Matt and Helena while Wild leaned against a wall. Kenji looked at all three people in the room and noted only one person needed medical attention immediately.

"Are you the only one who needs treating?" He asked Helena.

"Yeah." She replied and took off her jacket to allow Kenji to examine her. After a few moments, he spoke.

"Thankfully, it's nothing serious. But we have to operate to get those bullets out." Helena's face was fear stricken. _Cut me open?!_

"Take her to the back room." Mello ordered Kenji and the doctor then guided Helena to where the room was. Helena closed her eyes and silently prayed. _God help me…_

"Is she going to be alright?" Wild asked Mello. He looked at her and gave a reassuring response.

"She's fine. I went through what she's going through four times." Wild's eyes widened. _Four?!_

"Guys! A little help!" Kenji called for the other three and within seconds, they entered the room eyes wide at the sight. Helena was thrashing wildly about on a surgical table and Kenji was struggling to restrain her.

"NO! I don't wanna get cut open!"

_Ugh… are both of them crazy? _Mello sighed and rolled his eyes.

_Helena! Hang on! _ Wild ran over and restrained her right arm so she couldn't seriously hurt anyone in the process.

_Uhhhh… Helena…? _Matt also ran over to her and restrained a leg. _She must REALLY be scared of hospitals then…_

"Mello, help stupid!" Matt called out to the blond leaning by the door eying the scene. He sighed, walked over to the redhead's location and also restrained a leg. He was surprised that she wasn't as weak as he had originally anticipated. _This kid can really keep up a fight!_

"_Let go of me!_" Helena yelled and thrashed even harder. However, her pleas were disregarded as the three kept their stance.

After she was thoroughly restrained, Dr. Kenji put an amnesia mask on her and in a few seconds, she calmed and her eyes started to lid shut.

"Let go… of …m-" Helena started but was unconscious before she finished speaking. Matt, Mello and Wild slowly began to let go of her and looked over to Kenji if they were needed for anything more.

"Thanks guys. That'll be all." Kenji answered and begun the operation while the other three walked back into the living room to wait for her awakening.


	4. Problems

"Okay, I think that's all of them." Kenji mumbled to himself as he put the blood stained utensils on another surgical table but this one was used specifically for medical instruments. He took off his mask and gloves and threw them into a nearby garbage bin then walked back to retrieve the dish of bullets to throw them away too. In the dish sat seven bullets whose sizes were thankfully not too large to cause severe damage to the teen but would still refrain her from using that arm for the next two months.

"Now to tell the others…" He left the back room and went into the living room where the others snapped their heads in his direction.

"Is she fine?" Wild asked fearing for the worst.

"Yes, she's doing quite well actually. All her vitals are in check and she's due to wake up in about an hour. But I must warn you, be careful of her arm and don't cause further damage to it. Her arm will heal in around t-"

"Two months from now. Yeah, yeah, we get it; you could leave now." Mello cut in and shooed Kenji out the door before he could say anything else more.

"But my ba-!" Kenji yelled outside the door before the door opened and his duffle bag was thrown into his face. _Why do I even help them if they treat me like this?_ He huffed and scuffled away concealing himself in the darkness of the night.

Mello returned to his position leaning against the wall opposite Wild and seemed to be mirroring her stance. Tired of waiting for Helena to awaken, he informed the group that he was going to sleep and started to walk to a door just beyond the kitchen.

"Goodnight!" Wild yelled looking at his back.

"Hnnn." Mello replied and the slam of a door being opened and closed could be heard.

After forty minutes, the sleep deprived Wild slumped down onto the floor and leaned her back against the wall desperately struggling to stay awake. _I want to see Helena for myself. _Matt was keeping himself up by playing with his PSP and noticed Wild trying to keep herself up.

"You _can_ go to sleep, you know." Matt told her and she strained to open her eyes wide enough to look at him, but did nonetheless. She wanted to go to sleep but there were two problems; the first being that she wanted to be the first person to see Helena, and the second being that there were no rooms available for her.

"I couldn't if I wanted to." She admitted.

"Why?"

"I don't have a room." She blushed, embarrassed. He didn't understand why she couldn't just go in a room and sleep, there were plenty around. At least five of the rooms in the hideout were bedrooms.

"Just go in one and sleep." That sounded like a good idea to her but Wild didn't want to accidently go into a wrong room and possibly disturb Mello while he was sleeping. She already knew too well how scary he was when he got mad, and it scared her to the bone.

"But I just got here; I don't know where anything is." Matt sighed, paused his game, and told Wild to follow him. He gave her a tour of the house and informed her on where all the essentials were such as tableware or extra rolls of toilet paper.

"Here's a room to stay in." Wild opened the door and saw the room to be painted dark blue with a bed on the far left with white bed sheets, a window next to it, and another opposite it. She walked over to the bed and the minute her head hit the pillow, she was unconscious. Matt chuckled at the sight. _I guess Helena's influencing someone…_

"Hello?" Helena's voice called from the living room and Matt silently closed the door and walked back into the living room.

"_Hello? _Is anybod-oh! There you are! I thought you guys left or something." She said relieved.

"No, they just went to sleep." Matt sat down on the burgundy chair once more and Helena sat in the olive-colored one. Matt picked up his PSP and was about to resume the game until Helena interrupted him from doing so.

"How come you didn't go to sleep too?"

"I wasn't tired." Helena looked at a clock that hung above the kitchen which read: five thirty-two a.m. and turned her head to examine Matt's face for any signs for fatigue. He hid any hints well and she couldn't find anything to call him out on, especially with those goggles on. Narrowing her eyes into slits, she grew more suspicious of him and prepared herself to send him to bed the minute she saw him getting sleepy.

"So what game are you playing?" She asked and he glanced over to her then back to the console. No one was ever interested in his games. Not even the kids back at Whammys, so why was she asking?

"Uncharted… why?" Matt heard a gasp from Helena, quickly looked in her direction, and was found by a surprised expression plastered her face with her right hand on her cheek.

"CAN I PLAY?!" Before he could say his answer, she ran over to him, took his PSP and returned back to her seat. Matt was forced to get up to take his PSP back but paused when he saw how she flew past the level and how much fun she was having.

_I've never met someone who likes what I like…_ Matt thought.

"Uhhh… you… like this game?" He asked curiously but already knew the answer.

"This is my favorite game! Of course I do!" Matt smiled at her feverous behavior and the fact that he just found a gaming companion and rival. An idea then popped into his head.

"Well sorry to break it to you, but _nobody _can beat me at Uncharted." He spoke shrugging his shoulders. Helena paused the game and turned her head towards him in a creepy manner; Matt smirked.

_Oh this should be good._

"What. Did. You. Say? Helena widened her eyes at the challenge.

"You can't beat me."

"Yes I can!"

"Then prove it."

"I will!"

Helena and Matt switched off between playing the levels and whoever had completed it in the fastest time would get the gratification of being winner. Their little competition soon turned into goofing off and pure silliness and before they knew it, it was already morning.

Sun rays intruded in the room and lit up the furniture into clear, bright shades and hues of their dyed cloths as well as the other items that littered the room. The sleeping bodies of Mello and Wild were also illuminated in a display of light and highlighted their facial features.

Wild woke up first due to certain two people in the living room who were causing a ruckus. She heard some muffled shouts of excitement and loud laughter which irritated her ears._Shut. Up! _Wild opened her door with a slam and was going teach those two a lesson but it woke up an angry blond who resided across from her room. Mello slammed his door open as well with a tired and sleep deprived expression casted on his face, along with struggling to open his eyes. Although he looked tired, when he spoke, he sounded unlike anything like it.

"Would you shut the fuck up!?" He yelled throughout the house. Wild's face was fear stricken and attempted to go back into her room but was caught before she could.

_Uh oh. He's mad!_

"And where do you think _you're _going?"Mello asked Wild who froze.

"Back to sleep. I'm tired." She lied. Wild planned on sitting on her bed and waiting a while until Mello cooled down and it was safe to come back out. But now that plan was ruined._Damn my luck…_

"Oh no you're not. You woke me up so you have to go buy me chocolate." Mello walked over to her and propped an arm against the doorframe to support himself, all the while towering over her. _Chocolate…?_

"One; I'm not your servant so I don't have to get _anything_ for you, and two; I don't know this neighborhood at all so I'd get lost." Mello grew even angrier at her defiance.

"Then I guess you better find somewhere else to live." Wild's dirt-colored eyes widened at the statement.

"W-What?"

"You heard me. Get me chocolate or get out." Mello reiterated. This wasn't fair! She didn't have to do anything for him and here he was acting all high and mighty. _What I'd give to throw him off his throne. Is that it now? I'm playing soldier and you're playing king?_ Faced with no other choice, Wild agreed to buy Mello his stupid chocolate.

"That a good girl." Mello teased and ruffled her hair. _I'm not a dog either!_

"Shut up Mello." Wild walked out of the room leaving behind a smirking ex-Mafioso and entered into the living room to see Matt and Helena huddled over a PSP laughing.

"You guys can't shut up for a couple of hours can you?" Wild complained completely oblivious to Helena's health at this point. The latter tried to answer but couldn't control her fit of laughter and caused Matt to laugh more when she attempted to explain.

"I-I-I-I wa-was playing and-and there w-was an ug-ugly monster a-and i-it looked so-so ug-ugly that I-I couldn't ev-even beat it bec-because it looked s-so bad." Wild shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers.

"Really? That's what made you laugh so much?" Helena continued to laugh and shook her hands frantically.

"But it was so _ugly!_" Wild deadpanned and started to walk away but returned when she remembered Mello's request.

"Hey Matt, do you know where to get chocolate?" Matt waited until he regained his composure to begin to speak.

"Mello?" Wild nodded. "Well there's a store down the road so check there." Wild thanked Matt and dragged Helena with her to the store but not until Helena wrapped the majority of her face with a scarf to keep from being recognized. Wild was the only safe one out of the four whose face wasn't broadcast on the news and wanted by police or Kira supporters.

At the convenience store, there was a whole aisle dedicated to chocolate goods and Wild was at a loss of words for what to pick. She was about to pick anything until Helena handed her a Hershey's milk chocolate bar.

"How do you know he likes these?" Wild asked, confusion written on her face.

"I saw Hershey's wrappers on the floor and Matt told me that they were Mello's." She answered. Wild shrugged and bought it anyway with the money she took out of Mello's pants earlier while he was in the bathroom.

The walk back was pleasant and refreshing since the day before they cheated death and now, they enjoyed the breeze that went through their clothes and hair. Wild walked slightly ahead of Helena having the house in sight and grinned when she thought of hiding Mello's chocolate. That idea along with her grin died the second she saw the front door broken barely hanging on its hinges.

"Oh my god." She covered her mouth with a hand; widening her eyes. Helena looked over at her.

"What?" She then caught sight of the hideout and gaped at what she saw also widening her eyes. "What happened?!"

They ran into the house and the living room appeared to be rampaged as well was the kitchen and other rooms with the boys nowhere to be seen.

"Matt!" Helena begun to shout throughout the house. "Matt!" Wild followed her example and begun to yell Mello's name in every crevice, nook and cranny she could find, dropping the chocolate bar in the process.

"Mello!"

Wild then found droplets of blood on the floor and called Helena over to see them too.

"Oh my god." Helena gasped. Both girls felt tears forming in their eyes that stung but managed to suppress them. _What happened?! _ They thought.

Helena ran outside to see where they'd gone but found no clues; Wild followed suit. The street went in two directions; down the road or up the road, and if they wanted to find the boys fast, they'd have to split up.

"If we want to find them before something happens, we have to split up." Helena told Wild.

"What?! _NO!_ What happens when one of us finds them and the other gets lost?!" Wild was panicking at this point.

"First, breathe and calm down. Panicking won't help find them. Second, if you don't find them in five hours, then come back to the house and believe that I found them and am trying to save them. Okay?"

"O-ok-okay." Both girls stared at each other for one last time and began to run in their chosen directions, Wild up the road and Helena down the road, with one thought going through their minds.

_Good luck._


	5. Danger

Helena ran down the street as fast as her legs could take her and panted heavily, sweat running down her forehead. After a long period of time, she grew extremely tired and all her energy drained away but she continued in order to save some of the only friends she had.

_Must. Keep. Going!_

The street signs, nearby houses and pedestrians flew past her eyes in a blur of swirled colors. The only sound to keep her company was the rapid thumping of her heart ringing in her ears.

_Boom. Boom. Boom._

About to collapse of exhaustion, Helena slowed down into a walk to catch her breath and panic started to settle within her.

_What am I going to do? What if I don't find them in time?_

Tears began to fall from her eyes and hopelessness hit her full force. She started to cry, dropped to her knees and punched the concrete pavement harshly, causing her skin to tear and hands to start bleeding.

_Why? WHY?!_

Droplets of tears fell onto the ground and Helena started to cause a scene but didn't care for the pairs of eyes looking in her direction. Despair building up inside her, she yelled out in anguish.

"_NO!_"

* * *

Mello woke up in a basement-type room strapped into a chair with his hands and feet restricted and his head throbbing incessantly. He scanned the vicinity and noticed windows lining the wall to the right of him, and an unconscious Matt on his left who was also strapped into a chair. He heard mumbled speech from behind a door in front of the both of them.

_Where the hell am I? What happened? _Mello thought about the previous events and in a second, realization dawned on him. A scowl marred his features and he growled.

_Fucking Light._

_(Flashback)_

_Mello got out of the bathroom anticipating the door to open any second with his precious heavenly chocolate. His stomach growled and he frowned._

_What's taking her so long?_

_Mello heard the front door open and grinned knowing that his chocolate had arrived. He briskly rushed into the living room but instead of Wild carrying his chocolate bar, there stood a horde of Kira supporters who had already knocked Matt unconscious and seized him; another spotted Mello. He ran back to his room to get his gun but a group of supporters had already found their way into his bedroom._

_Oh shit!_

_Several supporters ran towards him with fists raised and malicious expressions on their faces. Mello fought them off using brute strength for as long as he could but new rounds of reinforcements constantly bombarded the room and denied him access to his prized pistol. After numerous rounds of fending them off, he grew fatigued and attempted to exit through the sliding door in his room. He reached for the handle and slammed the door open but was cornered by more Kira supporters and he racked his brain for possible escape routes._

_I could at least TRY to get to the gun under the pillow._

_As Mello made an effort to reach his gun, a supporter grabbed hold of him and although he fought back trying to tip them over and off his back, another hit a hard blow to his head causing blood to trickle down his forehead onto the hardwood floor. Mello's vision started dimming to black and the last thing he saw through his marine eyes were the evil visages of Kira's brainwashed minions._

_(End flashback)_

He knew this was Light's doing and by pulling a stunt like this, Mello knew that Light was close to being captured if he was targeting L's successors in a pathetic last attempt at world domination. He'd be apprehended tomorrow actually. He would've liked it if he was the one who apprehended that bastard but since he was stuck in this situation, he couldn't and probably wouldn't. He looked towards the comatose redhead to his left.

"Hey…hey Matt." The gamer didn't respond.

"Matt." Mello said a little louder; Matt still didn't awaken.

"Matt!" Mello shouted and caused his friend to jump in his seat. Matt glared at him with anger.

"You don't have to yell, I'm right here." He then glanced about the room slowly and sighed. He cheated death yesterday and now it seems that it wouldn't leave him alone.

_Why does this stuff keep happening to me?_

Two figures came out of the door, both carrying handguns. One had a clean face cut and looked extremely hygienic while the other appeared to just have woken up but both seemed to be Kira supporters. They walked up to Matt and Mello and started to patronize them.

"You think you're better than Kira, huh?" The hygienic man asked Mello with the barrel of the gun aimed at his face.

"I'd rather not answer." The man got angry and hit Mello's head with the butt of the gun.

The disheveled man walked towards Matt and began to annoy him as well.

"When Kira finds you, you're _dead._" The redhead rolled his grass-colored eyes. _I don't really think so._

A loud shout was heard from the window and Matt immediately recognized the owner of the voice. _Helena?_ He looked at Mello and called him to get his attention.

"What?"

"That was Helena." Matt whispered so their captors would not hear.

_Oh great… here come those two crazies to our rescue. _Mello thought.

"HELENA!" Matt yelled disregarding the fact that he was going to get beat for shouting. The disheveled man slapped him across the face with the butt of the gun, leaving a large cut where he had just hit. His face displayed furiousness that couldn't mean anything good for the gamer.

"I should kill you for that you bitch!" He screeched. If Matt were untied, he would do precisely that to this man; all he wanted to do was go home and play Uncharted 3.

Matt looked anywhere but the disheveled man and hoped Helena had heard him.

* * *

Helena walked in a drooping manner with all hope depleted away. Her cheeks were stained with tears and her feet ached horribly.

_If only I had some clue to find them. One little sign!_

She continued walking but froze when she heard a familiar voice.

_Matt? No, it can't be… my mind's playing tricks on me. But… what if that really was him?_

She quickened her pace until she began to run again and eventually, she was met with a dead end lined with some houses and the large building she took Matt to in order to hide from the police. She knocked on every door asking for two men- one blond, the other a redhead- but no one said they knew and she grew disheartened once more. She then went into the building but obviously no one was in there; she decided to head back outside until she heard another shout. This time Mello's.

It came from within the building on a lower level and so Helena searched every floor for them and pressed her ear against each door for sounds but heard nothing. She had only one floor left; the basement. Once the doors opened, instead of being the normal set up of rooms, the basement had only one door. Helena walked closer to it and as she did, she began to hear muffled noises and an occasional shout from her friends.

_They're in here! But who're the others with them? I can't break down the door and just rush in; I'll get myself killed. Or I could distract them…_

Hesitatingly, she turned the handle and opened the door and once she had, all eyes on the room shifted to her direction.

_What did I get myself in to?_

Matt and Mello stared at her and how idiotic she looked because of that scarf on her head. You could _barely_ see her face!

Helena sauntered over to the men patronizing Matt and Mello and told them the best excuse she could think of on a second's notice.

"Your wife is calling you at the payphone. I don't knowwhich one of you she's calling though." A sweat rolled down the hostages' heads.

_This kid can NOT be that stupid, right?_ Mello thought.

The disheveled man turned towards Helena and twisted her right arm causing her to cry out in pain.

"None of us are married." The hygienic man answered. Helena bit her bottom lip and turned her head to look at the ground.

_Shit! Just my luck. I guess I have no choice then…_

She thrashed about in the man's grip trying to escape but the man held onto her arm firmly. Helena then took the gun that was holstered on his belt swiftly and pointed it at his face. The man was impassive and completely oblivious to the death weapon pointed at him at point-blank range and still held onto Helena.

"Let me go or I'll kill you." He obeyed and she retreated backwards to Matt and Mello's chairs in order to untie them and just for good measure, she shot the two captors in the knees to prevent them from shooting anyone else. She also kicked the hygienic man's gun away so he wouldn't shoot them and in his condition, he couldn't walk to the gun.

She then strode to the Mello's chair to unfasten his restraints but froze when the door creaked open.

* * *

Wild ran as fast as she could possibly go, eventually growing tired and slowing down into a walk. Her thoughts went a million miles a minute and she began to feel an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and panicked more than she already was.

_Where are you guys?_

She walked continuously for approximately an hour until she found a large gathering of people walking towards her; some holding signs of encouragement pertaining to Kira's actions and doings. For the most part, they all appeared to be supporters of Kira and she knew that Kira was bad; Mello had told her so, and she started to back away from the crowd. A single man separated himself and looked mean and buff to the fourteen year old; he wore a leather biker jacket with matching pants and spiked boots, and had a moustache. He looked at her and spoke.

"Are you a Kira supporter too?" Wild was suspicious at why the biker needed to know.

"Why does it matter?"

"There were captured assailants who wanted to defy Kira. So we're punishing them."

_What if they're Matt and Mello?_

"Umm, excuse me; do you know when they defied Kira?"

"Well of course. It was yesterday all over the news, didn't you see it?" She shook her head. "One guy had a scar on his face and kidnapped Kiomi Takada while his friend was on a police chase and got cornered." Wild's face lit up. _So it IS Matt and Mello! Thank god!_

"Yes, I'm a supporter. Do you know where they might be?" The man nodded and told Wild of the location. She ran in the direction and hoped both boys were alright.

When she had arrived to the said building, she found nobody in there but remembered what the man had told her.

"The basement… basement…basement." She started muttering to herself while traveling to the location.

Hearing two loud gun shots, Wild opened the door which caused a loud _creek,_ and was met with two bloodied bodies on the floor, a frozen Helena with a gun in her pocket and Matt and Mello in the center of the room. Wild had a shocked expression on her chocolate features.

"Helena… what did you _do?_" Helena shook her head and waved her hands up frantically.

"They were going to kill them eventually if I didn't do that!" Wild stood by the door absorbing the sights of the room but was brought out of it when Helena called her.

"What are you doing? Help untie them before those two do anything!" Helena said while moving her eyes to the captors' bodies.

Wild walked over to Matt and began to attempt making him unrestrained while Helena did the same except with Mello's fetters. But unbeknownst to any of them, the hygienic captor crawled his way over to his gun and aimed it for Mello in order to devastate Helena. His finger inched on the trigger and Helena and Wild both sensed danger and how strong it felt towards Mello. Helena caught sight of the man holding up the gun and he pushed down on the trigger releasing it. Time seemed to freeze and the bullet zoomed through the air with incredible speed traveling to its destination; Mello's chest. Helena could see that the man had aimed at Mello and since he was restrained, it would be in a vital spot. She immediately jumped in the way of the bullet's course and it hit her in the right shoulder.

"HELENA!" Wild shouted.


	6. Finished Business

Mello's eyes widened at the sight and howl of pain that emanated from the wounded girl.

_Sh-She jumped in the way and saved me…_

Wild ran over, snatched the gun from Helena's pocket and shot the bastard who dared to wound her friend. He collapsed instantly with a fatal shot through his abdomen and died slowly after from blood loss. Helena limped over to a wall and slid down it clutching onto her fresh lesion while Wild attended to the tied up men. Once she had freed Mello, he stood up and stared at Helena's figure until a few moments later he decided to walk over to her. She could see him walking in her direction out of the corner of her eye and already knew what he would say.

_He's probably going to tell me I'm stupid for doing that._

However, his next words shocked her.

"Why'd you do that? You should've left it alone; I can handle it myself. " Her eyebrows furrowed and she frowned.

"If I hadn't, you would be dead right now. Listen, as long I'm here and can sense someone about to die, I will do anything in my power to save them." She responded vehemently with a serious expression.

"You're so stupid." Helena's grave appearance broke and she chuckled at the response she was waiting to hear. He didn't thank her but that would have to do; that's the closest it would ever get.

"I know, I know."

Matt was untied at this point and rushed over to Helena with Wild slightly behind him.

"Why'd you do that?! Are you crazy?!" He shouted with a worried face that made Helena laugh.

_Awww he cares about me._

"No I'm not! I knew what I was doing; I'm not dead am I?"

"You worry me sometimes…" Wild walked closer to Helena until she towered over her crouched body with a glare that could kill.

"ARE YOU STUPID?!" Why was everyone asking her if she's stupid?

"No! I'm fine! Really!" Helena reassured but winced when Wild touched her injured shoulder.

"No you're not. We have to get you a doctor again. What am I going to do with you…?" She sighed, helped Helena up and the two headed toward the door. Wild tilted her head and looked back at the boys who were eying the dead body and the whimpering one next to it.

"Are you guys coming or what? Some more Kira supporters are coming this way and unless you _want _to die, hurry up." The two shifted their gaze to Wild and followed suit. The group left the basement, ascended to the lobby and continued to walk with Matt and Mello leading the way.

They had arrived at a new location; the front of the building looked clean and well kept but when the girls entered, it looked like an absolute mess. Several papers were scattered on the floor along with chocolate wrappers, game consoles and cartridges. The room had four chairs colored a deep shade of red and windows were on either side. A small brown coffee table sat in between the chairs and a television was in front of it facing the chairs. Wild's face displayed a look of shock while Helena's showed slight disgust.

_Oh god._ They both thought. Mello strolled into the kitchen and called Dr. Kenji this time around using a telephone that sat on the countertop. He dialed and heard the phone pick up after a couple of rings.

"It's Mello."

"Remember the girl you patched up yesterday?"

"She got shot again, this time in the shoulder."

"We're in the second hideout. Hurry or you're dead." Mello hung up the phone and walked into the living room sitting down in the chair furthest right. Helena sat in the center chair closer to the right, Wild sat in the one next to her and Matt sat in the seat furthest on the left playing his Nintendo DS. A long silence overtook them until Wild spoke up.

"Hey Mello?" She asked the blonde.

"What?" He turned his penetrating gaze on her.

"Where are we?"

"A second hideout I had set up in case something happened to the first one."

"How many do you have?"

"A couple." Wild looked at the floor trying to guess the number.

_Woah. It's probably like six or seven!_

Another silence invaded the room and this time, it refused to leave. In a half hour, a knock was heard throughout the room and Wild answered. She had a deep frown etched into her face when she opened the door and looked at Kenji.

"You took _that long?"_ She spat.

"I was caught up in some serious business, but came as fast as I could. May I come in?" She eyed him suspiciously before letting him in and closing the door behind her. He saw Helena clutching her shoulder and the bandages he had wrapped on her arm yesterday were stained with blood and starting to unravel.

_This isn't good; her wounds reopened. _Kenji turned towards Mello silently asking, to the back room? In response, Mello nodded.

Kenji lead Helena to the back room which had plain white walls, two surgical tables (one for medical tools, another for the patient,) a bed to rest in, large windows to the right of it, and a sink on the far left.

Helena mentally prepared herself for the surgery when she laid down on the table and allowed herself to succumb to the sleepy effects of the amnesia. Dr. Kenji worked diligently for the next hour to remove the bullet from within her shoulder and when he did, he removed his mask and gloves and threw them into the trash along with the sole bullet. He then went back to Helena's unconscious body and rewrapped her wounded arm along with the new one she had acquired less than two hours ago.

He sighed and thought out loud.

"Really? _Again? _I'll be damned if this becomes a routine." He walked out of the room and back into the living room and conversed with the room's inhabitants.

"You already know what I'm going to say, so I need not say anything more. Bye Mello-" he looked towards the blond who replied with a grunt. "Matt-" the gamer lifted his hand meaning he had heard and continued on with his game. When Kenji saw Wild, he didn't know how to address her and said goodbye to her awkwardly.

"Miss." Kenji then opened the door and left while Wild huffed.

"He didn't have to call me miss!" She complained.

"Then you'd prefer mister?" Mello teased causing Wild to become even angrier.

"NO! A true gentleman asks a girl for her name first." She closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. Mello chuckled and retorted to her unrealistic statement.

"Sorry to break it to you, but those guys don't exist." She snapped her eyes open with a smirk on her lips and moved towards Mello's location. She then sat on his lap with her arms draped around his neck and leaned her head against his chest. He was about to push her off of him until her next comment surprised him.

"But you _are _a gentleman. You saved me." He sighed and reached towards the coffee table for a chocolate bar set on it but couldn't since she blocked any path to reach the heavenly delight. She caught what he was trying to do and reached for the bar. Wild unwrapped it and stuck it in his mouth laughing at his deadpanned visage.

_This girl is getting too attached to me._

About an hour later, Helena awoke and looked down at the bandages that wrapped around her torso.

_I really need to stop getting myself shot…_

She sauntered to the door and navigated herself back into the living room noticing Wild sitting on Mello's lap and him not minding. She also noticed Matt playing his DS and chuckled at how he was really getting into the game, almost being absorbed by the console itself. Wild heard the chuckle and lifted her head in the direction it came from and her features lit up when she saw Helena.

"HELENA!" She jumped off Mello's lap and ran towards the bandaged girl hugging her tightly. "I missed you and I was so scared you were going to die and promise me to never to that again!" She quickly rambled.

"OWW! Watch the bandages!" Wild immediately released her and apologized. Helena took a moment to process what she had just heard and smiled at the younger girl's concern over her. "I'm better now. Just no more really tight hugs okay?" Wild nodded and sat in the ex-Mafioso's lap once more. Helena sat back in her original seat and reminisced on how yesterday changed Wild and her lives for the better and smiled to herself.

_I'm glad we found some people we could actually trust. _

* * *

The next day, Mello took a ride in the city with his motorcycle enjoying the wind blowing against his skin and the busy life of Japan. He was lost in his own thoughts until he heard a familiar voice and stopped his motorcycle and parked it along the curb.

"They just wasted their time. He couldn't have gotten far considering the injuries inflicted on him so capturing him would be simple."

Mello turned to face the owner of the voice and was met with snowy hair, a pale complexion and an outfit that was all white.

"Near." He hissed. Near spun around to locate who had called him and spotted his old peer from Whammy's. He dismissed his team for the moment and strode over to Mello to speak to him.

"Hello Mello." Mello growled in response.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"We just finished the Kira case and Light's been apprehended but he escaped." Mello's face twitched in rage.

_He let him go?! Who does this bitch think he is?_

Near sensing his anger, quickly added on to his previous statement. "He suffered multiple shots to his arms, legs and torso, so he should be easy to capture whether he escaped or not." Mello was still furious; he should've been the one to apprehend that bastard. Damn it all!

"However without your cooperation, he wouldn't have been apprehended. Mikami had a fake Death Note while he kept the real one safe within a bank. When you kidnapped Takada, Light wrote her name in his Death Note without knowing that Mikami revisited the bank and wrote her name as well."

Mello was beyond furious at this point. To add insult to injury, instead of apprehending Light himself, he helped this sheep do it! He turned towards his motorcycle, put his helmet on, and drove off back to the hideout because his mid-day ride was just ruined.

Near faced the SPK members and prepared to return back to its headquarters along with his team.

* * *

_Damn it all! That fucking albino sheep beat me to it! _Mello approached the hideout and parked his bike in the front yard placing his helmet on a handle bar. The door was left unlocked and he stormed into the house fuming. Wild caught this and attempted to assuage his anger but it proved useless as he pushed her away and locked himself in his room.

Mello paced back and forth using all his willpower to not yell and destroy everything in the house. Knocks on his door aggravated him more than he already was.

"Go away!" He shouted.

"But I want to help." Wild said from the other side of the door.

"Leave me alone!"

"No. Not when you're hurting like this."

"I swear if you don't get away, I'll shoot you!"

"Do it then. I just want to help you." Mello grabbed the gun from under his pillow, slammed his door open and pressed the barrel of the gun on Wild's temple. She neither flinched nor budged from her position, she was standing her ground. Fury raged from Mello's aqua eyes and his finger inched towards the trigger but Wild's impassiveness stopped him and he dropped his gun.

Helena sensed Wild was in danger and stood up abruptly and ran towards her location but stopped when she got to the kitchen.

_The threat went away…_

Wild inched forward, grabbed onto Mello's waist and hugged him tight never wanting to let go. He calmed in her grasp and unconsciously wrapped his arms around her petit frame.

"I'll be here anytime you need to talk, okay?" Mello didn't answer but had already accepted the offer. Wild slowly pulled herself away from Mello and went into her room which was across from his. A new sense of hope began to rise within him and he looked forward to future challenges between himself and Near. There would be plenty more cases and plenty more chances at surpassing him. Mello headed towards the window and stared at the scenery with a smile on his face.

_With my new posse, nothing can get in our way._


	7. A New Case

(2 months later)

Mello sat in a living room chair- his usual one- and slowly bit off a piece of chocolate and let it melt in his mouth to try to tease a "Wild child." She also sat in the living room and was a seat away from him staring intently at the brown delicacy being eaten causing her mouth to water. _Damn him! He knows I want it!_

She grew an affinitive taste for the sweet over the course of those two months thanks to a sneaky ex-Mafioso and how his denying of chocolate spurred her curiosity into stealing some of his and tasting it. It was the best thing she had ever done in her life. Wild's stomach growled and she pleaded once more with the blond.

"Please Mello?" He looked towards her and smirked while biting off another corner.

"No. If you want some, buy your own."

"But I have no money!"

"Tough luck then." She narrowed her eyes into slits and strolled over to his direction. He saw her approaching and quickly hid his chocolate in his inside jacket pocket to keep it in safe hands. Wild saw this little action and draped herself over his torso, wrapped her hands around his neck and began to whisper into his ear.

"Please Melly?" He inwardly shuddered from the hot breath but still shook his head.

"No." Wild frowned and decided to take things into her own hands rather than waiting if mister-I-carry-guns-around-the-house-and-can-shoot -you-anytime -I-want felt generous and allowed her a bite. She forcefully opened his coat and ransacked some of his pockets but didn't retrieve the chocolate since Mello immediately stood up disallowing her from finding the bar. He had an annoyed look cemented onto his handsome face and started to walk in the direction of a chair furthest from his previous and sat down into it.

"If you leave that chair, I'll never give you a bite." Wild's eyes widened and began to grow angry.

"You weren't going to give me a piece anyway!" Mello smirked at her fury and shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe I would, you never know." Wild growled but was shushed by Helena who sat in the center seat trying to watch a new episode of Spongebob. The former set her sights on her and glared daggers at the side of her face. Matt sat in the chair next to her playing his Gameboy and was on the verge of beating the level until loud laughter made him lose his concentration and die and caused him to growl in annoyance.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Helena exploded in laughter and clutched her sides while all eyes and heads were in her direction. It took a few minutes for her to calm down and regain composure and once she had, she noticed the other three roll their eyes and sigh in irritation. She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and chuckled nervously while muttering an apology.

Suddenly, the television program was interrupted and an urgent news report was broadcasted on the channel along with all the others. A fair-skinned newswoman appeared in the center with bangs covering her eyes and wearing an all black business suit, having a microphone in hand and appeared to be in front of an apartment complex with a crowd behind her. The crowd consisted of angry citizens, curious ones, or police officers; the woman began to speak.

"Hello Hokkaido region, it's Hana Chushi with a vital news report." She looked to be paranoid as she occasionally turned to view if someone was behind her and then continued with the report.

"A killer is loose in the area who had already killed a local apartment resident by the name, Khaoula Dawud, who was brutally murdered with a pick axe. The body of the young woman had been mauled and mangled to the point of no recognition. The perpetrator left no clues so far in the investigation and it is _strongly_ advised to lock all of your doors and windows and not to go out late at night." The report ended and all sounds were muffled for Wild and Helena as their minds went blank with the newfound information.

_She-She's dead. _Wild thought.

_NOOOOOOO! _Helena thought. The boys turned their heads to see tears run down Helena's face and Wild's horror stricken one. They tensed and deduced that the girls had known her and judging by their expressions, were close to her too.

Mello walked to his previous seat in which Wild was sitting in now, leaned against the armrest and hesitantly rubbed her back in small soothing circles trying to console her. Matt put down his gaming device and wrapped his surprisingly strong arms around Helena's frail body and rubbed soothing circles on her backside while she sobbed into his shirt. Matt and Mello's eyes met and the two shared a single thought. _We have to find whoever's done this._

After the girls had become placid and had grieved over their longtime friend, the boys pulled them off the chairs and onto their feet staring into their eyes with a serious and determined expression. The girls stared right back and were relived as Matt and Mello had told them that they'd find whoever's responsible. Matt released Helena when he saw Mello approaching her and tapped her shoulder to catch her attention. When she turned to look at him, he appeared grim and stern about the situation and spoke the words both girls were hoping for.

"C'mon. Let's do your friend justice." He left the living room and returned shortly with three pistols in hand and gave one to Wild and Helena each while he kept the last gun in his inside jacket pocket and remembered about the chocolate he hid there.

After the girls put the guns into their pockets, Mello handed his chocolate bar to Wild as a means to lighten her mood. She gave off a ghost of a smile and began to bite off pieces, eating at an exceptionally slow pace. The blond then grabbed her free hand, started in the direction of the door and opened it swiftly with Matt and Helena closely behind and closing it.

Mello walked around the house to the backyard and opened the garage with a key he kept safe and on him at all times. The door opened to reveal a sturdy and incredibly dark tinted car with darkened windows and turrets built in but concealed to the common eye. He entered the driver's seat with Matt sitting shotgun and Helena and Wild in the back seats awaiting the car to start. Once it had, the drive took almost two hours and by the time they had arrived, Helena and Wild were asleep from collapsing of exhaustion.

After parking the car, Mello turned around to check on the conditions of the two girls and sighed when he found them unconscious. Rather than his usual shouting to awaken someone, he found it inappropriate in this situation and leaned close enough to their proximity to gently nudge their shoulders or shake their arms.

Helena was first to awaken since she was the lightest sleeper of all of them and rubbed her eyes to wake up. Mello then instructed her to awaken Wild and she obeyed without questions watching the boys unfasten their seatbelts and exit the car in which she followed their example, as did Wild.

The first thing they noticed was that it was dusk with tints of purple flooding the sky with hues of pink and orange settling themselves onto the canvas in the sky. They spin around to view where they were headed and spotted a dark, ominous building a few blocks away and shuddered at the thought of going inside it.

"C'mon." Mello stated as he walked towards the building with Wild and Helena in the middle of the group and Matt in the back of the group to ensure the girls wouldn't get lost. As they approached the large building, Wild tilted her head to view its size but could not see the top of the building and braced herself to enter it. She thought it was scary and evil from the looks of its exterior and just as scary if not _more_ frightening on the inside.

The outside of the building said, **Happy Go Lucky Bank,** which put off the girls a little bit but Matt and Mello were unfazed and appeared to have to been here several times. Once they passed the revolving door and entered, the interior looked unlike the girls had ever seen; it looked like the inside of a movie.

The lobby was humongous with sets of chandeliers fastened on the ceilings; the walls were hand painted gold with hints of silver into repetitive crescent moons; and a large glass table sat in the center of the room with twelve apricot, cotton-clothed chairs around it. There was also a large window pane further in the back with its borders also decorated in the crescent moons. A woman with brown hair wearing a plain white t-shirt and jeans stood behind the window and was the blonde's next destination. When Mello arrived to her location, she smiled at him and greeted him as she would to all her customers seemly unaffected by his serious look.

"KZM572." Immediately her smile dropped into a serious expression and she nodded. The woman lifted the divider and exited the booth eying the group.

"Please follow me." She led the group to the right and then took a series of twists and turns with the lights lined on the wall progressively getting darker and eventually leading them to a sole door in the entire hall. The woman slowly spun around and looked at the group while greeting them farewell and also handing Mello a pager.

"He is right behind this door; please page me if you need any assistance." The ex-Mafioso nodded and watched her retreat into the darkness heading to her booth. Mello opened the door and entered with Wild closely behind him, Helena farther back, and Matt in the rear.

The room was just as dim as in the hall, had dark green painted walls with a few lit candles providing the light in the room, and a bookcase on either side of the walls fully stacked with books. There was also a mahogany desk in the back center with a black leather chair behind it that was turned around with a man sitting in it whose hands were folded and elbows resting on the armrests. He seemed to be sensing Mello and Matt's arrival as well as the other group members but did not know the names of the new additions.

He slowly swiveled the chair and faced the group. The man was elderly but seemed to be in a healthy condition and wore a dark-brown cardigan with a white shirt underneath it. He greeted the two Whammy boys in his presence.

"Mello, Matt." He spoke and nodded towards each boy as he said their name. Wild and Helena viewed the event and silently wondered how this man would aid Matt and Mello into catching the killer who murdered their close childhood friend.

"Ereno." The boys replied in unison.


	8. Ereno Whammy

Mello stepped forward close to the desk and began to consult with Ereno while Helena dragged Matt over to the side to ask him who the man was. She regained the power to speak a few minutes ago since the news' arrival and decided now was the time to seek some answers. Matt looked down at her questioningly as to why she needed to talk to him _now_ of all times.

"Who is he?" Matt's face contorted in puzzlement but softened when he realized both girls didn't know him since they were uninformed of general news due to their previous living conditions.

"He's Ereno Whammy, the younger brother of Quillish Whammy, a wealthy inventor who had founded the orphanage Mello and I grew up in and was also the caretaker of L. Ereno followed in his footsteps and also became wealthy along with owning several businesses and having multiple connections with people. He helps us whenever we need supplies or people who specialize in jobs that we need at the moment like locksmiths or con artists." Helena's face first displayed shock, then guilt and ultimately scrunching from confusion._Woah, this man is cool! But…they lived in an orphanage? So they're just like Wild and me. But who's this 'L' guy?_

"L?" Matt closed his eyes and sighed before further explaining.

"He's the world's greatest detective and our predecessor." _Predecessor? Bad-asses AND smart? That's it. These guys just got ten times cooler. So… then they knew him?_

"You and Mello knew him?"

"Yeah, you could say that. We've only seen him in person three or four times when he visited the orphanage when he didn't have a case. But other than that, we sometimes had video calls but couldn't see his face though; there was a large 'L' on the screen instead." Helena glanced up into Matt's eyes briefly then to Mello's form and eventually decided to rest her eyes on the ground._Poor guys… they barely talked to this guy and probably still looked up to him like a role model._

Matt saw her saddened expression and did not like it one bit; she was already gloomy enough as it was because of her friend's death and his short-lived childhood was _not _going to contribute to it. He lifted her chin with his index finger until their gazes met_; _Helena's face shocked and eyes widening and Matt smiled at her.

"Don't feel sad about me, okay? What's done is done and it doesn't affect me anyway. Mello cared more out of the both of us but lost interest soon enough. We're fine now, so cheer up." Helena placed a hand over his forearm and brought it down so that he wasn't holding her face anymore. She still made eye contact but couldn't get over what he had just said. To make Matt happy at the moment, she gave him a whisper of a smile and hugged him tightly which caused Matt to tense at the sudden action but slowly melted into the hug and embraced back. Once they separated, Helena told him that she'd inform Wild of the man and Matt nodded and headed over to Ereno.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, Wild had heard the entire conversation and frowned at hearing Mello's childhood. _Melly must have had it rough._She quickly hid any evidence of ever hearing anything, and allowed Helena to relay the information to her. Wild feigned comprehension but for the most part, she already understood everything.

While they were speaking, Mello pressed Ereno to aid them in this small vigilante case but he continued to refuse which made the blond angry.

"Why. Won't. You. Help?" He gritted out through his clenched teeth but Ereno was unfazed from his temper.

"I don't have anyone that specializes in that field." Mello's face started hinting towards a red hue and felt rage boil in his blood.

"You had a forensic team last time so don't you_dare_ lie to me Ereno." The younger Whammy sighed and closed his eyes, resting his folded hands under his chin to hold his head up. When he opened them, he pointed a finger to the two girls speaking in the front of the room and Mello followed his finger to see what he was pointing at before turning back to look Ereno in the eyes.

"What _about_ them?"

"I don't want them dragged into any danger and that's why I cannot give you a team." Mello was furious and was about to seriously injure Ereno until Matt rested a hand on his shoulder indicating that he'd try to speak with the elder. He stepped in front of Mello and pleaded with the man.

"Ereno, we have watched over them and prevented any serious danger from happening to them. Could you please send us a team? It's in Mello's and my best interest that nothing should ever happen to them. You have my word." Ereno contemplated Matt's reasoning and finally agreed to those terms but only on one condition.

"A condition? What is it?" Matt inquired.

"You allow those girls to get a medical examination done by my doctors and tell me more about them." Mello's eyebrows furrowed at the unusual request._Ereno never asks for conditions. What's this about?_

"Why is it important?" Mello asked.

"I want them to be safe; they're pure souls who shouldn't be dragged into these things." Both boys agreed nevertheless to the condition since they were getting a forensic team by the next day.

"When should they get it?"

"Hmm…" Ereno checked the gold analog watch he wore on his right wrist and decided now would be a good time considering the lack of time the group would have later on in the case. "Right now is a perfect time." Matt and Mello looked at each other with an 'are you serious' face and the ex-Mafioso approached the girls whose conversation ended mere seconds ago. They turned their heads to look at him and he appeared less grim than he did previously, but still did nonetheless.

"You guys have to get a medical examination right now if you want us to help you find your friend's murderer. Ereno will show you where to go."

"What about you and Matt?" Wild questioned. Mello rolled his eyes; she always had to care about him didn't she?

"We'll be in the room too but you two will go to a secluded part to be examined while Matt and I will wait outside it." Wild nodded vigorously and Mello smirked at the action. _Glad to see she's gotten over her friend's death. Can't say the same about Helena though._ The girl appeared to have crawled to hell and back judging by her heartbroken mental state and disheveled exterior.

Ereno rose from the desk and walked over to Helena and Wild to shake their hands and exchange greetings. He headed in Wild's direction first and shook her hand.

"Hello, I'm Wild." She stated with a smile which in turn made Ereno smile.

"I'm Ereno; and who might you be?" He asked once he let go of Wild's hand and directed himself towards Helena. Ereno outstretched a hand towards her and Helena shook it as well.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Helena." He nodded and released his hand from her grasp to open the door and left having everyone file behind him. Ereno led the group down the hallway to another door that was painted so dark that it could be missed and never seen. He opened the door and large white walls were revealed in the room, a striped blue and white couch was on the near right in which Matt and Mello sat in immediately. Ereno continued to lead the girls until they stopped at two white curtains – one on the left, the other on the right – with a female doctor in front of each one.

"Please call me when they are finished." Ereno informed the medical practitioners who nodded at his order. He began to turn back towards the direction of the couch in order to speak with the boys.

"Please follow me." The doctor in front of Helena requested and she obeyed by entering the examining vicinity.

* * *

"Right this way." The other doctor said and Wild then followed her into her own examining vicinity.

Ereno turned the corner and saw Matt and Mello waiting on the couch and he plopped down on the right edge with Matt in the middle and Mello on the left edge. After a moment of silence, Ereno spoke up and questioned the boys about the two girls.

"So what can you tell me about those girls?" Ereno inquired and Mello was first to answer.

"Their names are Wild and Helena, they are unaware of news in general, have lived in a truck for some period of time, are unafraid of risking their lives for Matt and I, Wild's parents are dead, and Helena had broke into Matt's car once and cracked his security locks. That's pretty much all the important points."

_Cracked Matt's security locks? This Helena is interesting… And Wild's parents have died? Poor child._

"They can also sense when someone is about to die; they call it a sixth sense." Matt chimed in and Ereno nodded.

_Good to know, good to know. I should put this in the new files I created for them._

"Is there anything else I should know about them?"

"No, that's all." Mello responded. Another long silence hit the trio until Helena and Wild turned the corner to see them waiting. They stood and the two Whammy's House boys greeted Ereno goodbye while the girls just waved and Mello took the pager out of his pocket and clicked it. The group exited and waited outside the door of Ereno's study while Ereno entered it and did not come back out. Soon, the bank teller was back and guided the group out of the building.

"Have a nice day!" She waved them off as they exited the revolving door, headed towards their car and entered it. Matt drove this time with Mello riding shotgun and Wild and Helena sitting in the back once more. They began to drive back home and wouldn't arrive for a few hours but none of that mattered. A forensic team was acquired and they'd have leads soon enough.


	9. Car Troubles

As the group approached their home, Wild had an idea for a possible way to kill what remaining time they had left of the journey. She smirked and looked at the heads of Matt and Mello in front of her then at Helena who looked out her window before taking a large gulp of air and proceeded with her plan.

"99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of-" She started to sing and Helena groaned and rolled her eyes. _Oh dear god no._

"Shut up if you want to live." Mello threatened and turned to face her and glared hatefully at the innocent façade she put up.

"Awwww but _Melly!_" Mello glared even harder at her whine and gripped the headrest of Matt's seat tightly so that his knuckles turned pale. He clenched his teeth and resisted the urge to throw her out the car door.

"Stop calling me that. Shut up already." He returned to look out his window again until Wild smirked again and incessant singing invaded his ears once more.

"99 bottles of beer, you take one down, pass it around, 99 bo-" Mello growled angrily, pulled out his revolver from inside a coat pocket and pointed the barrel of his gun at her causing Helena to sense it and immediately outstretch an arm protecting Wild. The latter flinched at the sudden action and on-looked the two having a glaring battle through the involuntary tears in her eyes.

"Put it down _NOW._" Helena spat out and Mello's eyes narrowed. Who was _she_ to tell him what to do?

"Tell her to _shut the fuck up._" Helena's stare didn't let up and spoke to the girl behind her.

"Wild, you have to be quiet or else he'll really shoot you." She whispered to the shaken girl. Her face was tear stricken and eyes were staring at Mello's hate-filled face and how his eyes left Helena's to rest on hers then ultimately turning around to watch the road. She attempted to will away the powerful urge to cry then and there with the escape of a few sobs in which Helena closely embraced her in a hug and allowed her to cry into her shirt.

Matt quickly glanced from the road to his best friend then back to the road and commented on his previous commotion.

"Not cool man."

"Whatever, she deserved it."

The rest of the car ride was so silent that a pin dropping could be heard and all four passengers looked out a different window in their own sanctuary. When they finally reached the hideout, Wild asked Matt for the key and once the door was open, she dropped it on the coffee table and darted to her room, slamming the door shut. Helena closed her eyes and sighed while Matt disapprovingly shook his head toward Mello who stormed to his room. Seeing as they were the only two left in the room, Matt and Helena figured now would be a good time to go to bed since it was already eleven and proceeded to go to their bedrooms.

In his room, Mello paced the floor back and forth in rhythmic pendulum motions having his thoughts run amuck and speaking them out loud to himself.

"How _dare_ she?! Aggravating me on purpose and then playing the innocent card to win everyone's vote! She's going to pay! She's-" He stopped mid-sentence when he heard the loud crying from the room opposite him. **_Still_**_ crying?_ He sighed closing his eyes and slowly opened them to reveal calm blue lagoon orbs without a trace of anger left. _I'll talk to her in the morning._ He then stripped himself of his tight leather apparel and changed into his crossbones t-shirt with a flaming skull in the middle and his boxers and went to bed.

In Wild's room, she threw herself onto the bed and let loose all the emotions she held in since the car ride, disregarding if she was being loud. _How could he do that? I just wanted to pass the time and he goes and points a gun at me! I trusted him! What happened to this morning and how he was being nice to me? _ Wild cried even harder from these thoughts and eventually slowed down until she was silently sobbing into her pillow and crying herself to sleep.

Wild was awoken by ceaseless knocking at her door followed by her blond savior ordering her to get up. In her groggy state, she didn't know who was speaking until she rubbed her eyes and focused harder. Once she recognized the voice, she scrunched her nose in disgust and shouted back at him through the door.

"No! Go away!" Mello expected her to first refuse speaking to him but ultimately would because of her affection towards him. He continued to knock and asked her if he could come in to speak with her.

From the other side of the door, Wild glared daggers and folded her arms over her chest. There was _no_ way she'd allow that to happen. He should just leave her alone while he still had the chance.

"No! Leave me alone!" Mello rolled his eyes but continued to persist.

"I just wanna talk!"

"NO!" He slid his hand down the door and stared at it silently.

"…please?" His voice sounded softer and almost apologetic but Wild wouldn't fall for that ruse. _He tries to kill me and thinks an apology lets him off the hook? Hmmph! As if!_

"Go _away_!" Mello stopped trying for now and went back into his room. He hadn't given up on speaking to her and knew she'd eventually come out of that room sometime. All he had to do was wait for that moment.

After an hour and a half, Wild thought the coast was clear and didn't hear any noises so she opened her door a sliver amount producing a small_creeeek_ but that's all it took for her to be shoved back into her room with a determined blond backing her up and finally pinning her to the bed.

His hands held her shoulders firmly and his knees held her lower half in place even if she was struggling to get out of his grip. She glared at him and he looked back into her eyes intently trying to get his message across. His hair leaned down and framed his face and tickled Wild's nose which produced a small sneeze and he smirked at the cuteness of it. When she caught the smirk on his face, she grew angrier and thrashed even harder but her attempts were still futile from the position he held her in.

"I just wanna talk."

"About what? You trying to kill me? If you hated me_that_ much, you could've just told me!" Tears threatened to fall again and Mello saw her eyes starting to glisten and sighed.

"Look; I don't hate you, I was just mad and annoyed. I really hate that song so I have short patience with it."

"That still doesn't give you the right to point your gun at me!" Tears began to fall down the corners of her eyes and roll onto the sheets and caused Mello to feel even guiltier than he already was.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. There's no way I could even shoot you anyway." Wild sniffled and held back her tears in order to ask her next question.

"And why is that?" Mello turned away from looking at her and felt his face growing hot. He figured now would be as good of a time as any to tell her.

"I don't know how… but I feel close to you and although I don't say it or show it, I actually like all the times you follow me around and bug me." He mumbled but was still audible and Wild's eyes widened at what she had just heard. _He… likes me?_

Mello climbed off of her and gave her a last glance before heading to the door and stopped before he exited, resting his hand on the door frame.

"If you don't want to talk to me anymore, I understand. I just wanted to say sorry." He began to leave the room before small arms encircled his waist causing him to freeze.

"I… I don't want to stop talking to you; I was scared and angry at what you did." Wild mumbled into his shirt and Mello uncoiled her arms from his body and turned to face her.

"Just don't make me mad again, okay? I don't know what I'll do next time." She sniffled but still replied.

"O-okay." He ruffled her hair causing her to wince and smile which in turn caused him to smile. He walked out the room into the kitchen while Wild proceeded to enter the bathroom.

He opened a cabinet above the sink and took out a chocolate bar he hid so Wild couldn't get to it and closed the cabinet door. Sauntering towards the living room, he spotted Helena watching TV in her usual chair and Matt beside her playing on his PSP. He moved towards his chair and sat in it taking the bar and biting off a large chunk from its corner.

His blissful breakfast was short lived however when a sprinting Wild caught sight of the chocolate bar and bit a humungous chunk of its middle and jumped into the only remaining chair that was conveniently placed as far away as possible from the fuming blonde's seat.

_WHAT DID I JUST TELL THIS GIRL?! _His eye twitched then glared at her and she shrugged her shoulders at him innocently with a large grin plastered on her face. Before he could possibly strangle her, the doorbell rang and being the closest to the door, Wild stood to go open it and was faced with a tanned man with large hazel eyes who was around Mello and Matt's age.

He wore a navy blue sanitation suit and its matching cap with tufts of black locks with red streaks peaking through. Wild checked behind him to see if there was anyone else but it appeared he was the only one. _Is this… everyone? _Her eyebrows furrowed and the man caught sight of the small action, recognizing what she was thinking and explained.

"I'm the only one here because the rest of my team is already at the crime scene." _His team? He's the boss? But he's so young! Ooh – and handsome too! He's probably four or five years older than me. Oh gosh… what have I been __**doing **__with my life?_

"Uhhh miss?" Wild was lost in her thoughts so he waved his hand in front of her face and she blinked and refocused on him. She apologized and invited him into the hideout. He glanced around his surroundings while all eyes in the room were on him; Mello was first to speak up.

"Is this it? You're kidding right?" The man turned his sights on Mello and relayed the information he had just told Wild.

"The rest of my team is at the crime scene as we speak. I've come alone to inform you guys." Matt looked up from his game to the man and his face lit up in recognition.

"Takai?" The man gazed at Matt and his face also lit up.

"Hey Matt! You didn't tell me you were still in Japan!" The two embraced in a manly hug and patted each other's backs.

_They must know each other. _The other three thought. Matt chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well… uhhh… I kinda forgot about it…" The two continued to have a conversation until Mello grew tired of waiting and interrupted them.

"If you're done being all buddy-buddy, show us the building now." Takai smiled nervously and headed towards the front door.

"If you would all follow me…" Matt was first to follow Takai because he was already standing and was followed by Wild, Helena, then Mello.

Takai took the group to the front yard and asked if they had any means of transportation because if they didn't, he had enough room in his truck to carry them. Mello turned him down stating that they had their own car but Wild spoke up and asked to go with Takai. The rest of the group and Takai stared at her in confusion.

"Really?" Takai questioned.

"Yeah, if it's alright with you."

"It's fine!" He unlocked the car doors and opened one in the back for Wild to enter. She thanked him and entered the car and he closed the door to enter the driver's seat. She looked out the window and watched the retreating forms of Matt, Mello and Helena and noticed the two gamers entering the vehicle first. Mello opened the shotgun seat's door and turned to glance at Wild's window. The two made eye contact for a few seconds before Mello broke it and finally entered the car. Takai turned the keys in the ignition and drove slowly until Matt was ready to follow him. Once the latter revved the engine and exited the driveway, both cars left in pursuit to the apartment complex.


	10. The Complex

The silence in the car caused Wild to twiddle her fingers in anxiety and feel even more uncomfortable with the decision to go with this complete stranger. She knew nothing about this guy; he could be a rapist for all she knew! Hesitatingly, she found her voice and tried to break the tension she felt becoming thicker since the car had left the front yard. She lifted her gaze from the window and stared at the back of Takai's head before taking in a deep breath.

_Okay Wild, you can do this. Oh gosh, why am I getting all nervous? THIS IS DUMB! I refuse to feel like this about talking to someone! I'm going to do it, here we go. Three… two… one…_

"H-"

"We're almost there, maybe five to ten more minutes." Takai interrupted, causing an upset Wild. Thankfully, she calmed herself before she could inflict any damage on the vehicle's driver and tried once more to engage in conversation.

"Hey Takai?" He flicked his head in her direction indicating he was listening but responded in case she hadn't noticed the small movement.

"Sup?"

"Ummm… I was wondering how do you know Matt?" He sighed because he anticipated the question since she got into the truck.

"We were set up by Ereno to do a Mafia mission together; blowing up some tower from an opposing gang. He was on tech stuff and alongside running a forensic team, I'm a weaponry expert and blew that tower sky high." He chuckled at the last part before continuing. "Ever since then, we were cool with each other." Wild nodded in understanding and stifled out an 'oh.' She was silent again before she realized something.

"Wait… _you _were in the Mafia?"

"Yes and no. I was more of an unofficial member who was called for certain jobs whenever they needed my expertise."

"How'd you learn to use weapons? Your parents?"

"No, quite the contrary actually; when I was young, my family was robbed by a group of burglars and they had even kidnapped my parents demanding a ransom. I was asleep at the time and woke up from the noise and when I saw my parents tied up about to be put into a van, I ran into my parent's room and took my dad's pistol. I don't really know what happened next, I kinda blacked out but when I regained my senses, the corpses of the burglars were in the street and I still had my dad's gun in my hand, so I must've done it. Ever since then, I trained with weapons to protect those I care for so _that_incident or any others wouldn't happen again."

"Oh… I'm sorry…" Wild said with an apologetic expression on her face.

"Why? It's not like you caused it. If it happens, it happens; no worries." Takai's words of reassurance didn't influence Wild but instead caused her further to feel saddened.

_Why do they all have horrible pasts? First Mello and Matt and now _Takai_? _

Wild turned towards the window and stared out it another time completely lost in her own thoughts. Meanwhile in the other vehicle, a fight was beginning to break out between a gamer and a chocoholic.

"C'mon Mello just answer the question!" Helena pleaded while he twitched angrily trying to ignore her. After a minute or two of bombarding him with questions, the ex-Mafioso had enough and was about to put a bullet in her head. Matt on the other hand sighed and hoped nothing would happen between the two. He didn't need this when he could much rather be sitting shotgun and playing his Game boy.

"Please?"

"Leave me alone. Why do you want to know? It's none of your business." Mello gritted out with his teeth clenched.

"We barely talk to each other that's why. If you answer it then I will; promise." He spun around and gave her his best death glare and unfortunately, she seemed unfazed by it.

"Rock. Now leave me alone." Helena gasped and a large grin spread across her features.

"Me too! Team rock and roll for the win!" She exclaimed and gave a rock hand sign causing Mello to roll his eyes.

"Hey Matt, what about you? What music do you listen to?" The redhead pondered the question for a moment before finally answering.

"Death metal." Her eyes widened a considerable amount before giving an approving smile.

"Nice! Can you growl?" Matt laughed.

"I wish. Can you?"

"A little bit but it sounds stupid."

"Give it your best shot." Helena waved her hands in rejection and shook her head.

"Oh no, that's fine. I don't really have to."

"C'mon, I bet it doesn't sound bad at all. I want to hear it." Sensing her inability to win the battle, she used her winning trump card – Mello.

"Well… I would but only if Mello wants to hear it too." Helena grinned in victory because she already knew his answer but was shocked at his actual response.

"Sure." He replied with a smirk since he knew she would think he would say no. Normally he would, but in this particular occasion, he decided to bend those rules a little. Helena felt her palms getting sweaty and throat getting dry as well as her heart beating faster from nervousness.

"What should I growl then?"

"Say, Mello eats dirty socks." She took a deep breath and was about to attempt it until Mello cut her off.

"Do it and I'll kill you."

"Then what should I say?" Mello thought for a second before coming up with a line for her to say.

"Say, you've killed the trust, now nothing's become of us."

"Damn Mello, that's deep." Matt commented to his blonde friend.

"Shut up." Helena shook off her nerves and tried to growl the line and once she had, she looked towards Matt and Mello for their opinions.

"Not the best, but with a little work you could get up there." Matt responded causing Helena's eyes to shine with glee and determined to do just that. She looked towards Mello and waited for his response but when it didn't come, she frowned and looked out her window sulking.

"It was pretty shitty." Mello finally said and caused Helena to whip her head in his direction with a scowl.

"Well I'd like to see _you_ try."

"No thanks; it's not my thing."

"Why you-!" Mello smirked in his seat and looked out the windshield.

"I'm what?" He asked innocently.

"You're an asshole." The blonde hadn't expected that insult and felt his anger rise again. He turned to face her giving a glare that could kill.

"What did you call me?" He gritted out.

"An asshole!" Helena responded with a glare of her own that equaled Mello's. The ex-Mafioso reached into his inside coat pocket and pointed his revolver at her head with hate in his cerulean eyes. She sensed that he'd do that and pointed the gun he gave her previously at him with a malicious expression. Mello had to hand it to her; she was tough but nonetheless stood his ground and didn't waver.

"Say it again. I _dare _you." At this point, Matt was hoping that nothing would happen and for Mello to calm down. He prepared to jump in and stop the argument if the situation called for it; anybody dying in the car under his watch was out of the question.

_Oh look, mister Mafia thinks he's tough; c'mon now. I've been shot two times already; maybe this one would get me this time. Three times a charm, right? _

"You're-"

"Hey guys we're here!" Matt interrupted and parked the car in a parking lot directly across the complex with Takai's truck next to them.

_Damn it. _She lowered the gun, hid it in her pocket and exited the vehicle; Matt and Mello following suit. Takai and Wild were leaning on the truck, waiting for the group and got up to approach them.

"What took you guys so long?!" Wild exclaimed.

"Stuff…" Helena responded and Wild became confused.

"What kind-"

"You don't want to know. Anyway, let's go!" She grabbed the younger girl's hand and started in the direction of the entrance to the building but stopped to check if the guys were behind them. Behind her, the boys were speaking to each other about non-urgent things and Helena's anger began to rise but she kept her cool for the sake of everyone.

"Takai! Hurry up!" She called out for the forensic specialist. He turned to look in her direction and laughed sheepishly from embarrassment before telling the two Whammy boys to follow him.

The inside of the apartment complex seemed usual except for the hordes of caution tape that littered the stairs and walls. Mello walked over the tape and continued on as a sign for the group to go. After climbing seven sets of stairs, a room heavily draped in caution tape was seen and Takai, who was in the front of the group at the time, halted.

"This is the room." He opened it slowly and went inside with Matt and Mello following behind him. The girls looked at each other before nodding mutually and walking in; Wild first, then Helena. Wild felt tears come to her eyes and spill over her cheeks while Helena, seemingly frozen, stared at the sight with wide eyes and absorbed the gruesomeness.

"Oh god." Wild breathlessly whispered to herself.


	11. Gory Sight

The apartment reeked of blood and bodily excretions and the realization and shock hit the girls even harder than when they first heard it on the television. Splatters of red lined the walls and a large blood stain could be seen on the living room carpet. Several other blood stains were soaked into the couch, table, floor and drops of it led from the living room to what seemed like the bedroom.

A group of five people emerged from the room to the right of the living room and came forth to greet their leader and the others.

"Hey Takai, what took you so long?" A stout man with shaggy brown hair and glasses asked.

"Well you see… uh… I ran into good old Matt again." He answered nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Matt's here?!" A woman behind him asked; she had blond hair and looked to be around twenty-four. She pushed the stout man out of the way and almost ran to the redhead. Draping an arm around his shoulder, she patted him harshly on the back.

"Hey! Long time, no see! How've you been!?" He laughed sheepishly and returned the friendly gesture.

"Ah you know Nita; same old, same old." Nita flashed a million dollar grin but it soon died down when she caught sight of Wild and Helena. She brought Matt to the side and consulted with him quietly.

"So what's up with those two?"

"The woman that died here was their childhood friend." She cast her eyes on the ground and felt sympathy for the two.

"Oh… I'm sorry."

"Yeah… me too." Nita let go of him, walked over to Helena and Wild and put a hand on each of their shoulders.

"I'm sorry for your loss." She showed a sympathetic countenance and then let go of the two and headed for Takai's direction.

"We collected some blood samples and retrieved the pick ax." she called for the stout man to bring the items to her and within a moment, he came back with a few vials of blood and a large transparent bag containing the bloody weapon. Helena shuddered at the sight of the weapon that killed her close friend while Wild had even more tears stream down her puffy cheeks. Takai nodded and took the items and placed them on a cart right behind the front door.

"Anything else?" He inquired to Nita.

"No, not rea-oh! We found a hand that was left in the kitchen and it was holding onto a knife," she motioned for the man again to retrieve it, "we bagged that too." He returned and handed the bag off to Takai who then placed it once more on the cart.

Mello stood idly by and inspected the room mentally to himself. _A hand and a knife? Could this depict how they're going to kill next? Or is this some type of sick joke they wanted to leave us?_

"I think I'm going to be sick." Wild widened her eyes and clamped her hand on her mouth.

"Bathroom's past the bedroom and to the left." Said Nita. _Not sure if you'd want to go in there though… _Wild pushed past the forensic team and ran straight for the bathroom. After throwing up in the toilet, she headed for the sink to wash her hands but froze in fear when she saw the reflection in the mirror.

She turned around slowly and before her was the body of Khaoula, mangled and dangling from the shower curtain. The shower rod was impaled through her neck so that her body stood upright on its own and her head was downcast; her eyes wide open. Her clothes were ripped and tattered with their colors dyed a deep hue of red. Khaoula's body was littered in cuts; some pieces hacked off like her left cheek and almost the entirety of her abdomen, along with the lack of her right hand.

"Khaoula; oh my god." She felt bile coming up her throat and turned to the toilet. A few moments later and quickly washing her hands, Wild ran out the bathroom and into the living room where the forensic team was relaying their findings onto Takai.

"Mhmm, mhmm, and," he pointed to a spot in the notes the team had written earlier, "you found lacerations covering her body with some chunks of flesh missing?"

"Yes. The body is in the-" Nita started.

"G-guys…" Nita's eyes flicked to Wild's form, was held for a second, then away, resulting in her looking guilty._ I could've at least warned her. She's like thirteen and no kid should see that kind of stuff._

"Bathroom." Takai looked at Nita and noticed how her demeanor suddenly changed. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion but focused more on Wild. She looked like her soul got sucked out of her body; in other words, traumatized. Takai walked up to her and placed an affectionate hand on her shoulder.

"Wild? Do you need to sit down?" She nodded. He walked her into a nearby chair and crouched down to her level.

"Want to tell me what you saw?"

"Sh-She's i-in th-th-there and-" Her throat choked up and she stopped to take a breather. Closing her eyes and taking a couple of deep breaths, she started again.

"Her body's dangling and cut up and her hand's gone." He nodded and stood up.

"Anything else?"

"Her clothes are ripped up."

"Thank you for telling me." She barely nodded. Takai sauntered over to Nita and asked her to show him where the bathroom is.

"Are you sure you want to go in there? I mean, you never ask to see the bodies. You always ask the after the autopsy; are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just show me where it is."

"Really?"

"Nita.Show me _now._" Mello found this suspicious and narrowed his cerulean eyes towards Takai's assistant.

"I want to see the body too." With each word, he stepped closer to the two until he met up with them. She glanced at him then at the floor. After a few seconds of contemplating whether if Mello could be trusted, she finally spoke up.

"Past the bedroom and to the left." Mello walked to the specified destination while Takai thanked her and followed suit.

_She's suspicious; cannot be trusted. _The ex-Mafioso thought. When he finally reached the bathroom, he noted that it smelled more rancid than when they first came in. He reached for the doorknob, turned it and opened it to reveal Khaoula's corpse impaled on the shower rod. Deciding to inspect it closer, he stepped closer to it and stared at it meticulously.

_Her cheek and a large portion of her abdomen are hacked off. Clothes are tattered to… wait… _he squinted, _is that…?_

He walked a little closer to the still body and noticed a dark colored line stretching across her neck. It was hidden by her drooping head for the most part so unless inspected closely, it would never be found.

_Her throat was slit? Was it slit before or after the abdomen was cut out? She would've died either way but which was first? Since her clothes are soaked in blood, perhaps her abdomen wound was what killed her. _His eyes trailed down to examine her hand. _There's a lot of blood there but not many cuts so she could've clutched at the abdomen wound…_

"You see it too, huh?" Mello turned his head towards Takai but the other man remained staring at the corpse.

"The slit throat. She would've died either way."

_So he sees it too…_

"I know but look at her hand. There aren't many cuts there but a lot of blood so she could've clutched at her hacked away abdomen." Takai stared intently at the limb, widened his eyes slightly at the realization and turned to face Mello with his face lighting up.

"You're right!" The blonde smirked.

"Aren't I always?"

"Uhhh…" Mello narrowed his eyes at him, closed his eyes in thought and reopened them a second later.

"Never mind. Is that the only new discovery you found?"

"Yeah. If that's all for the front," Takai carefully stepped around the corpse and into the bathtub. "Let's look at the… back." He breathed out the last word because of the sight before him. Through the newly formed holes in her clothes, her back was split in half and her spine removed.

"Mello… I think you'd want to see this…" He headed to where the forensic specialist was and stared at Khaoula's back.

"No wonder she was impaled on the rod… couldn't even stand up on her own."

"Mello!"

"What?"

"This is no time for jokes, this is serious!"

"Who said it was a joke? The killer obviously wants to display how twisted he is." Takai sighed.

"Where do you think the spine is?" Mello shrugged.

"It could be anywhere in the apartment. At this point, it seems like the perpetrator is playing a game of scavenger hunt with us; first the hand, then the body, now the spine."

"Then let's look for it." The ex-Mafioso started in the direction of the door and waved off the suggestion.

"Why not get your cronies to do it?" He stated before leaving for the living room with the newfound information.


End file.
